


When The Ordinary Becomes Extraordinary

by butzichen



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Snowbarry Week 2018
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-09-14 21:37:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16920852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butzichen/pseuds/butzichen
Summary: Just a few mostly fluffy Snowbarry one-shots for Snowbarryweek and Snowbarry Valentine 2019





	1. The Christmas Tree

**Author's Note:**

> So these scenes can be seen a separate or they could happen chronologically. Depending on where the show takes us, I might get inspired to add a few more or even tie them into a story, we'll see :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This year Caitlin's going to get herself a real Christmas Tree, but she finds that it's more difficult than anticipated

“Uh, Caity, why are we in the middle of a forest?” “Because, Frost, we’re going to get a real Christmas tree this year!” Caitlin replies cheerfully.  
When she was little, her father had always made sure they had a real tree in the living room, decorating it together was one of her fondest childhood memories. But ever since Ronnie died, getting a real tree just for herself, had seemed like too much of a hassle, so she had only put up a small fake one over the last few years.  
“And why this year?” Frost’s voice resonates inside of Caitlin’s head. “Because this year there’s two of us, so it seems worth it, don’t you agree?” Caitlin explains. “Sure, Caity,” Frost laughs gently, “but why are we getting it in the middle of the forest? You do know you can buy them, it’s also way more legal.” Caitlin chuckles. “Are you lecturing me about the legalities of things? You? *Killler*Frost?” “So what are you saying, that I’m a bad influence on you?” Frost grins. “Maybe,” Caitlin laughs, “but also buying one isn’t the way my dad used to do it, so it’s not the way we’re going to do it.” 

Caitlin’s been trotting a little farther into the forest when she finally finds a tree, no *the* tree. “How about this one?” she asks gesturing at the big fir in front of her. “Nice,” Frost agrees, ”but how are you planning on getting this not so little tree home?” “Ah,” Caitlin smiles, “that’s actually part two of why we’re here this year. This year we are in control of our powers, this year we can get the tree on our own, with no help from anybody.” Caitlin grins quite proud of herself.  
Letting Frost take over, Caitlin uses their power to send a gush of ice and freeze the lower trunk of the tree. Satisfied with her work, she takes the axe she brought and gives the trunk one big blow. Because of the ice, the tree breaks cleanly and falls to the floor. “See, that was easy,” Caitlin points out proudly. “Sure, sure and now what?” “Now, dear Frost, we’re going to create an ice slide under the tree and easily drag it back.”

 

Barry walks into the Cortex to find Cisco twirling in his chair. “Hey man, what’s up?” “Nothing, Barry, absolutely nothing, I mean not even a small robbery or something to spice up the day,” Cisco groans bored. “I’m actually glad to have some downtime,” Barry grins while looking around searchingly. “Caitlin’s not here,” Cisco points out. “What, I wasn’t, I mean, she’s usually, I just… how come?” Barry stutters. Rolling his eyes at his friend, Cisco replies. “I don’t know, she said she had some errand to run.” “Okay,” Barry nods trying to sound indifferent, “so I guess she’ll be back soon, right?” “Nah, she made it sound like it was a rest of the day kind of thing,” Cisco elaborates. “Oh, okay,” Barry states disappointment in his voice, “I guess I’ll go back to work then.” Cisco raises his eyebrows at him. “Seriously dude, what is going on with you lately? I’m sitting here bored out of my mind and you’re all ‘oh Caitlin isn’t here? Okay, bye’. Makes me feel so special,” he chastises his friend but with a grin on his face. 

“I’m sorry Cisco,” Barry apologizes, “I wasn’t really paying attention. I’d love to hang out with you. It’s just with Cicada still out there and him knowing Frost can hurt him, I’m always a little queasy when I don’t know where Caitlin is, I just need her to be safe, you know.” “I do,” Cisco nods, “just call her to make sure she’s fine and then we can have some bro-time.” Barry returns his friend’s grin, as he pulls out his phone. 

“No answer?” Cisco asks seeing Barry’s face fall after a few moments. “I don’t think she has reception,” Barry mumbles, “could you try to trace her signal?” “Of course,” sitting up straighter, Cisco starts taping at the screen. “Hmm, you’re right, the signal is too weak to get a call through, but maybe if I can amp it up and… yes! I managed to track her signal,” Cisco calls out, “locating right now… hmm, she’s in the middle of a forest.” Cisco looks up at Barry surprised. “Why do you think she would be in a forest? There are no shops there. What kind of errand could she be running?” “I don’t know, Cisco, “Barry replies slowly, worry starting to seep into his features, “I’m go…” “You’re going to check it out, “ Cisco interrupts, “yeah yeah, go ahead, make sure our Dr. Snow is safe.” Smiling at him, Barry turns around and flashes out of Starlabs.

 

Caitlin’s finding out that moving a big fir alone might not be as easy as predicted, even with cold powers. At first, her theory seemed to work, but then she realized that the tree was losing its needles as she dragged it along the ice. So she tried to blow the tree with her ice breath, but apart from some frozen twigs, nothing happened. Now she has conjured up a slate of ice under the tree, which she then, in turn, tries to slide over her ice ramp, this way the needles aren’t rustled. She’s making headway but it takes her longer than anticipated. On top of it, Frost had kind of given up on her endeavor, telling her to go home and go buy a tree, before disappearing into her subconscious. Frustrated, but too stubborn to give up, she keeps pushing and dragging the tree.

 

“Cait, are you okay?” Startled, Caitlin turns around to find Barry observing her curiously. “Uff, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” she gasps. “Sorry,” Barry mumbles sheepishly. “What are you doing here?” she wants to know. “Looking for you, you don’t have cell reception, so I… we got worried and Cisco tracked your signal… So why are you dragging a tree through the middle of the forest?” Barry inquires grinning.  
“Getting myself a real Christmas tree,” she explains, “not a fake one like always.” “Okay, but what’s wrong with your usual tree?” Barry inquires. Caitlin shrugs. “It was fine for just myself, but this year I’m not alone anymore, so I wanted a real one, like when I was little.”  
“You were never alone, Cait,” Barry promises his voice suddenly low and gentle. She gives him a small smile. “I know, but it’s still different.” Barry nods slowly, these little reminders of just how alone Caitlin has felt, even surrounded by her friends, made him feel incredibly guilty. He knows he let her down and it would be some time before he would manage to make up for it. 

“So do you want some help?” he asks his tone lighter. “Yes, please,” she grins grateful. Between the two of them, they could just carry the tree like normal people without powers. “So did I miss anything at Starlabs?” Caitlin inquires. “No, just Cisco being bored,” Barry grins. “Bored? Really?” Caitlin groans annoyed, “his workplace is a mess, we haven’t done inventory in over a year, we have six, no seven ideas about improving Starlabs’ safety and communications, which he has yet to build and he sits around being bored. Great, I leave the lab for one afternoon.” Barry can’t help but chuckle at her frustration. “Maybe you should make him a list, in case of boredom,” he jokes. “Barry Allen, do you really think I haven’t made him a list yet?” Caitlin teases pretending to be offended. They both laugh as they continue their way home, conversation flowing easily.

 

A little later, they arrive back at Caitlin’s apartment, together they heave the tree in the waiting stand surrounded by cartons with Christmas decorations. “Thanks, Barry. I might have gotten myself in a little over my head with this tree.” He chuckles, “Anytime, Cait.”  
“Do you want some coffee, as a thank you?” she asks, moving towards the kitchen counter. “Sure,” he replies, his gaze following her before he turns back towards the still barren tree. “Hey, do you want some help decorating it?” he offers. “Oh that’s sweet of you, but I don’t want to keep you,” she replies hesitantly. “No worries, I love tree trimming,“ he grins. Seeing his earnestness on his face, she gives in, grateful for the company. “Okay, thanks.”  
She walks back over handing him a cup of coffee while taking a sip from her own. 

“So lights first?” Barry asks. Caitlin nods, taking out the sparkling white lights from the cartons. “Maybe we shouldn’t have put it this far into the corner yet, it’s going to be difficult to reach all around,” she muses as she starts uncurling the string of lights. “You forget that I can just phase right through the tree,” Barry grins and takes the lights, phasing and circling around for a second, before showing off his work. “Ta-da.”  
“Perfect,” Caitlin smiles looking at the tree, “your powers do seem more useful than mine.” “Says the only person who’s able to fight Cicada,” Barry retorts sarcastically, nudging her on the shoulder. She chuckles. “Okay, next the ornaments, which colors should we use?” “It’s your tree, Caitlin, but I’m always partial to red and gold,” Barry jokes. “It was red and gold last year,” she states pensively. “Silver and blue?” Barry asks, laughter in his eyes. “How about silver and red,” she smiles, “those colors go perfectly together.” “They do, don’t they,” Barry agrees softly, his eyes lingering on her.

So they start hanging every ornament they have in the chosen colors. “You do know, “Barry points out, “that we’re totally missing Christmas music.” “That can be arranged,” she chuckles as she puts it on. With the sweet melodies in the background, they take their time looking for the perfect spots for every ornament. Caitlin hasn’t felt this peaceful and happy during the holidays in a long time. As they decorate, they share stories about their favorite Christmas memories and how they used to celebrate with their parents and finding that they have a lot in common.  
“Really, your parents, too? I thought we were the only ones who spent all of Christmas morning in our PJ’s,” Barry laughs surprised. “My mother was reluctant, but I swear my father bought a new one each year just for Christmas morning,” Caitlin grins. “So you didn’t keep that tradition?” she wonders, as she opens another box with ornaments. “Nah,” Barry shakes his head, taking the ornament she’s handing him, “Joe didn’t mind me wearing Pj’s, but he preferred to be dressed. And I could never convince Iris, she always thought she wouldn’t look good enough in the pictures. But being the only one, seemed weird, so I got dressed as well.” Caitlin can’t help but glance over at him, feeling sad for that little boy who lost his parents and his traditions. “Maybe we should reintroduce this idea, I’m sure Cisco would be on board,” she suggests with a soft smile. Barry chuckles as he looks at her, his eyes incredibly soft. “I’m sure he would love that idea, he’d probably show up in Flash PJ’s.” Laughing they continue to come up with ridiculous PJ ideas for Cisco.

 

“Oh, I only have a gold star for the top,“ Caitlin realizes disappointed, when they were about done. “Just wait here,” Barry grins, speeding off.  
When she starts to wonder how long it could take him to find a silver or red star, he finally returns, but not with a silver star, but with a silver snowflake. “Here you go,” he says handing it over to her. “Oh, Barry, it’s beautiful, thank you,“ she gushes.  
Taking the snowflake, she stands on her tiptoes trying to reach the top of the tree. Moving behind her, Barry reaches over her head, taking the ornament from her and placing it on top of the tree. “Thanks,” she smiles, gazing at the tree. The sight brings back so many memories, that she has to blink to chase away some tears. Barry is still standing right behind her, her back leaning against his chest. Maybe sensing her mood, he puts a hand on her arm, giving it a slight squeeze. Before she really thinks about it, she turns around and wraps her arms around his waist. He instantly encloses her in his arms, pressing his head down next to hers. 

They let go of each other reluctantly after a few more moments. “You okay?” he wonders softly. She nods. “Yeah, I really am, just a bit emotional, I guess,” she concedes, “thank you for all this, Barry.” “It’s nothing, this was a lot of fun.” “It was,” she smiles, “having a real tree, not decorating it alone, it really feels like Christmas again.” “Now all we’re missing are the PJ’s,” he teases.  
Laughing, she goes to the kitchen to get a smaller box. “And some Christmas cookies,” she adds offering him one. “Thanks,” he says, taking a bite,” wow they are amazing.” Blushing a little, she offers him another one. “Maybe I shouldn’t let you spoil your dinner,” she jokes. “Right,” he grins, taking another one, before glancing over at the clock, “Wait, is it eight already? I was supposed to be home for dinner half an hour ago.” He looks around for his phone, before locating it under some boxes. “Yep, a lot of missed calls,” he sighs, “sorry, I better get going before Iris sends the cavalry out looking for me.” “Yeah, of course, I’m sorry you’re late because of me,” Caitlin replies. “It’s really not your fault, don’t worry about it,” he smiles at her, before looking back at the tree once more. Noticing the many unpacked boxes lying around all over the living room, he quickly flashes through it, putting everything in order.  
“Thanks, but you didn’t need to do that, you’re already late,” Caitlin worries. “That’s kind of normal for me,” Barry grins, giving her a hug goodbye. “Can I have another one?” he wonders eyeing the cookie box, “for the road.” “Another cookie? Or another hug?” Caitlin smirks. “Both,” he grins, popping a cookie in his mouth and engulfing her in his arms once more, before speeding off. Grinning happily, Caitlin sits down on the couch, admiring her new tree.  
“Good day?” Frost wonders, resurfacing in her head. Caitlin smiles. “The best.”


	2. Car Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin's car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Frost suggests calling Barry for help, but for some reason, Caitlin's very opposed to the idea

“Damn it!” Caitlin throws her hands down on the steering wheel. She can’t believe it, she is actually stuck in the middle of nowhere on some abandoned road and her car has stopped working.   
“Language!” Frost’s voice resonates in her head. “You’re the one to talk,” Caitlin sighs, “what are we going to do, it’s really starting to get dark outside, and there is nothing in sight.” “You could call Barry,” Frost replies. Caitlin just makes a noncommittal sound, then she opens the car door and gets out.   
“What are you doing? Trying to be easy prey?” Frost teases her. “No, I’m going to check under the hood, maybe I can fix this.” Caitlin can hear Frost chuckling inside her head. “Sure, go ahead Mrs. Mechanical Engineer.” “Just so you know, I have watched Cisco fix a lot of stuff over the years.” “And how many of those were cars?” Frost sneers. 

Not dignifying her with an answer, Caitlin opens the hood. The moment she does, a lot of hot steam erupts from the car. Using her ice breath, she blows it away quickly, careful not to freeze any parts of the car at the same time. Caitlin looks at the contents under the hood for a good minute or two.   
“You have no idea what these parts are, do you?” Frost inquires cheekily. “Well, no, not really,” Caitlin sighs frustratedly. “How about you call Barry now?” Frost demands. “No, I can do this on my own,” she insists. “Right!” 

Minutes pass with Caitlin staring down, unsure what to do. She can feel Frost getting annoyed. “Why don’t you call Cisco at least?”   
“Because, with his breaching still on the fritz, he’s just going to send Barry out here, so I might as well call Barry,” Caitlin retorts.   
“Then CALL Barry,” Frost sighs, exasperated.   
“No!”   
“Why the hell not?”   
“He has enough on his plate.”   
“Yeah right, “ Frost chuckles humorlessly, “coming to get you would take all of one minute, whipped as he is, even he can spare that much time.”   
Caitlin winces.   
“What was that?” Frost demands.   
“Nothing.”   
“Why did you wince?”   
“I didn’t”   
“Yes, you did. What the hell are you trying to keep from me?”   
“Nothing, really. I was just cold.” Caitlin defends herself, feeling Frost’s suspicions. 

 

“So what is the plan, Dr. Snow?” Frost asks coldly, putting her intuitions aside for now, “You going to wait until somebody comes by this deserted road, hoping they actually want to help and not murder us?” “We can always freeze them if that’s the case,” Caitlin snaps back. “Sure, sure,” Frost replies nonchalantly,” that sounds like a fun night.” “Or we could just walk?” Caitlin offers, “or make an ice slide to get home.” “We’re two hundred miles away from Central City, I mean I’m strong, but you can’t be serious,” Frost bites back. 

Sighing, Caitlin gets back in the car. Neither of them speaks for a while, as Caitlin tries to come up with another solution and Frost tries to figure out why she doesn’t want to use the obvious one. 

“Why did you drive all the way out here in the first place?” Frost finally ventures carefully.   
“You know that. I needed to tell my mother about our father and his alter ego.”   
“Yeah, but why did you *drive* all the way there?”   
“Sherloque broke the last breaching device…again,” Caitlin replies rolling her eyes.   
“You could have asked Barry,” Frost says softly.   
“I couldn’t…. I can’t.” 

“But I can,” Frost’s determined voice now comes out of their mouth, as she quickly picks up their phone and calls Barry, he is on their speed dial after all. But before Barry could pick up, Caitlin has taken control again and hangs up.  
“What the hell, Frost!” she shouts angrily.   
“Woah, I’m sorry, Caity, I was only trying to help you.”   
“Well great, now Barry’s going to see I called,” she takes a deep breath, “but it’s okay, he might not think anything is wrong.”   
“Caity, talk to me! Why are you so hell bent on not seeing Barry?”   
“It’s not about seeing him,” she replies grumpily.   
“But…?”   
“If he shows up here, he’s going to carry me home,” Caitlin lets out.   
“So?”   
“So? So he’s going to *carry* me. Bridal style, with the way I know him.”   
“And you don’t want this, because?” Frost inquires surprised.

“Because at Christmas…we had a moment,” Caitlin finally admits.

“Wait did you kiss?” Frost asks incredulously.   
“What? No, of course not, he’s married, I’m not going to kiss a married guy!” Caitlin replies indignantly.   
“Too bad, he’s a good kisser,” Frost murmurs softly.   
“I know,” Caitlin sighs.   
“Wait? What?” they both demand at the same time.   
“How do you..? I mean, when did you…?!”   
“Everyman once kissed me looking like Barry,” Caitlin explains, “you?”   
“I totally tried to off him by kissing him,” Frost shrugs.   
“You did what?”   
“Calm down, you know our powers don’t really work on him,” Frost tries to assuage her, “and he was really into it.”   
Caitlin groans. “This is just getting worse and worse.” 

At that moment, her phone starts ringing. “It’s Barry! Like I said, worse and worse,” Caitlin murmurs.   
“Pick up!”   
“No!”   
“Did you just hang up?” Frost demands incredulous, “you know he’ll definitely think something’s up now.”   
“Then, I’ll just turn off my GPS on the phone, so he can’t track me.” 

“You’re going through an awful lot of trouble to not get rescued,“ Frost states, “just because you had a moment.”   
“We’re not supposed to have moments,” Caitlin mumbles, trying to hide the sadness in her voice. “Ever since he got back from the past, he’s been acting differently towards me, I don’t know what to do with that,” she explains with a sigh.   
“Have you talked to him?”   
“No of course not, what am I supposed to say?” Caitlin wonders.   
“Get a divorce if you want to have moments with me,” Frost grins. Caitlin can’t help but laugh.   
“Great idea,” she replies sarcastically.

Suddenly there’s a streak of lightning and Barry is standing outside of the car. “What the what?” Caitlin yelps, taken aback. “Cait? Are you okay’” Barry asks worriedly, opening the car door and leaning down. “Here he goes again, calling you Cait,” Frost grumbles, now very keen on protecting Caity’s heart. “Frost!” Caitlin thinks quickly. “Fine, I’ll leave you two alone,” Frost replies and disappears into her subconscious.   
“I’m fine, Barry,” Caitlin states, as she gets out of the car, “what are you doing here?”   
Barry keeps looking at her intently as if to make sure, she really was alright. “Well, I had a missed call from you and when I returned the call, you hung up on me, so I got worried. I asked Cisco to locate you, but your phone’s GPS was off, so I figured you must be in trouble and then we used your car’s GPS to track you down,” Barry explains.   
“Well I do have some car trouble and apparently my phone’s on the fritz as well,” she quickly lies, not keen on explaining to him why she didn’t want his help. 

Barry’s face brightens when he realizes that she actually is fine. “Want me to give you a lift?” he asks already swooping her into his arms. “Sure, Barry,” she replies, smiling despite herself. Even though she knows this isn’t going to help with their tension or her feelings, she can’t help but enjoy the feeling of being carried. His arms gently supporting her knees and back, always pressing her close to him. Giving up all pretenses, she snuggles her head on his shoulder, savoring their closeness, as he speeds off. She knows they should be back in Central City by now, but somehow every time he carries her, it always takes him a little bit longer to reach their destination.


	3. The Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a hectic day, Caitlin decides to snuggle up with a good book, but then Barry Allen shows up asking for a favor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pie can be very inspiring ;)

Caitlin pulls the blanket up to her chin, furrowing deeper into the couch, a cup of steaming tea next to her and a good book ready to be opened. It has been a crazy week, the latest meta really giving them a run for their money. She hasn’t been able to sleep more than a few hours a night and there was definitely no time to relax, but this afternoon they have finally caught him, so she has decided to take the rest of the day off and enjoy some downtime. After a hot shower, she has put on her dark leggings and a comfy sweater, ready to not move from her favorite reading spot in the next few hours. 

When she has just started chapter two, there’s a knock on the door. “Caitlin?” She can hear Barry’s voice on the other side of the door. Glancing over to her apartment door, she takes a second to deliberate. Judging from his tone of voice, this isn’t an emergency or anything, and though she wants to see Barry, she always wants to see him, she isn’t ready to leave her comfy spot on the couch or put down her book.   
Before she can react, Barry’s voice sounds again. “Caitlin? Are you home?” “No” the words are out of her mouth before she can think about it. There’s a chuckle from the other side of the door. “I’m sorry, Cait, I know you wanted some time to read, but I really need your help.” Sighing, Caitlin gives up, she knows she can’t resist Barry Allen, not even with a door between them. “Fine, just come on in,” she calls out. 

But it isn’t just Barry Allen who comes phasing through her door, it’s Barry Allen packed with bags of groceries. “What the…?” she starts, as she watches him put everything on her kitchen counter. “So, I need a favor,” he grins turning towards her, still snuggled under the blanket on the couch. There’s something in his eyes that she can’t really read, but it vanishes in an instant.   
“Tomorrow is the CCPD’s annual bake sale and Joe totally went ahead and signed me up… for 5 cakes! Because of my speed, I can apparently make the oven bake the cake faster or something, I really don’t know what he was thinking, and now with the week we had, I kind of have to bake all of them tonight,” he stops babbling and looks at her with big puppy eyes. “You do know that my powers are cold not heat, right?” she asks, trying not to grin at his adorableness. 

Huffing dramatically, he sits down on the couch, propping her legs up and putting them on his lap. “Yes Dr. Snow I’m quite aware of your power limitations, but you should also be aware of my baking limitations, the last time I baked, my pie died, I mean it literally died.” Rolling her eyes at him, but unable to stop a smile from spreading across her face, she replies. “So, you need my baking skills?” “Exactly”, he smiles at her brightly, “pretty please?” 

Casting one last longing look at her book, she closes it with a sigh and puts it on the table. “So, I guess I’m going to have to get up if I’m to help you,” she sighs excessively. Before she can blink, Barry has leaped up and grabbed her hands, slowly pulling her up. “I definitely owe you one,” he states sincerely not letting go of her hand just yet. “It’s alright,” she smiles up at him, “anything for you, Barry.”

 

“So what kind of cakes do you want to make?” she inquires after a moment where neither of them has moved. “Right,” he says, letting go of her hands and turning towards the kitchen, “so chocolate, obviously, because, I mean, it’s chocolate and…” “and it’s the only recipe you know,” she interrupts him teasingly. “Well, and there’s that,” he agrees with a smirk, “so you see how I can not possibly do this without you.” Shaking her head at him, she retrieves her own recipe book and hands it to him. “You choose,” she states, as Barry starts speed reading. “How about this one?” he wonders. “Barry,” she sighs, “that’s a three-layered wedding cake, unless you want to make the five cakes one on top of the other, maybe we should attack something less challenging.” “Right,” he agrees, “it just looks so delicious all white and frosty.” Caitlin glances up at him, lifting one eyebrow, but Barry is back to flipping through the pages. 

After having chosen a few more manageable recipes and checking that Barry brought all the ingredients they needed, they start baking. Barry would measure and ready the ingredients and Caitlin would work on the actual dough making.   
“Barry, can you please stop speeding every time I put flour in the dough,” Caitlin sighs exasperated, wiping the blown away flour from her face yet again. “Sorry,” he grins sheepishly, using a towel to swat at her face lightly, trying to get rid of the last of the flour. “Just give this to me,” Caitlin chuckles as she takes the towel to clean her face herself, “why don’t you get the baking tin.” There is another swoosh of air as Barry retrieves the tin. “Oops,” he mumbles, as he spots her hair that has been blown into her face, now covered partly in flour as well. Rolling her eyes at him, but unable to suppress a smile, she hands over the dough and disappears into her bathroom, before reemerging clean and hair pulled up in a ponytail. 

 

“Which one do you want to do next?” she asks as she puts the dough in the oven. “Red velvet?” he replies questioningly. Nodding, Caitlin retrieves the recipe. “I actually have an idea for that one,” she muses, “how about we color the icing yellow and use the baking tin you gave me a few Christmases ago?” “The one shaped like a lightning bolt?” Barry grins, “you still have it?” “Of course, I do. I just don’t exactly know where…” Caitlin trails off as she starts looking through her kitchen drawers. While Barry organizes the ingredients, she pulls out a chair and climbs on it to search the overhead cabinets.  
“Ah there it is,” she exclaims, as she finally spots the box. Standing on the edge of the chair, she reaches just a little bit higher, grabbing the box and slowly pulling it out. Trying to keep anything else from tumbling out with one hand and pulling on the tin with the other, she leans back and promptly starts losing her balance. One moment she feels gravity pulling her down, the next Barry’s hands are steadying her, pushing her upright. “You okay?” he asks worriedly. “Yeah I’m fine, thank you,” she smiles turning around. Putting his hands on her hips, he helps her hop down, as she steadies herself on his shoulders. Caitlin can feel herself blushing, standing so close to Barry she can make out every green sparkle in his eye, his hands still lingering on her hips. Neither of them moves as they keep looking at each other silently, both content to enjoy this peaceful moment between them. 

When Barry’s phone starts buzzing, he lets go of her with a small smile, picking up his phone. As Caitlin busies herself with the icing, she listens to Barry’s half of the conversation. “Hey Joe,” he greets his adoptive dad, “what’s up?... No, I’m sure I finished it and put it in the outbox…. Can’t you just check for me, I’m kind of busy.” At that, he flashes a smile at Caitlin, who returns it readily.  
“I’m trying to bake a few cakes here, Joe, you’re the one who signed me up, remember?“ Barry grins, seeing Caitlin from the word ‘you’ and raising an eyebrow at him. He covers the phone with his hand as he mouths “I am helping.” Grinning at each other, Caitlin starts the dough for the red velvet cake, while Barry keeps handing her the right ingredients. Sighing at Joe’s latest response, Barry goes on. “Fine, I’ll come in for a minute, but that’s it, I really can’t stay… yeah…okay... bye.” 

Hanging up, he turns to Caitlin. “I’m really sorry, I have to go make sure Singh got my latest report. I won’t be long, I promise.” “It’s fine Barry, work comes first,” she assures him. “Yeah, but it really shouldn’t though, it’s not life or death,“ he responds more serious, “and I convinced you to help me in the first place and now I actually leave and don’t even help anymore, I just feel really bad about this.” “Barry, you are aware that you could have been back by now, right?” she replies rolling his eyes at him fondly. “Right,” he grins, before adding slowly “I guess I just don’t like leaving you, Cait.” But before Caitlin can react, he has sped off. “I don’t like you leaving either,” she mumbles staring at the spot he has vanished from a second ago. Shaking her head, she tries to chase away these thoughts. This is ridiculous, they are just friends, they shouldn’t say or think these things, they shouldn’t have moments, especially when they’re just having some fun baking together, that’s all, nothing else to it.

 

Caitlin finishes the cake batter, just as Barry comes speeding in. “I’m back,” he grins, “miss me?” “Yes,” she replies, a little too seriously.   
“What’s that?” she asks, pointing at the bags he’s carrying, trying to change the subject. “I brought us dinner. It’s the least I can do,” he answers. “Thanks. Maybe we should finish the last one before eating, though?” Caitlin suggests. “Sure, which one is left?”, Barry wonders, “oh right, the one you made for my birthday, my favorite.” Getting back into their rhythm, Barry readies the ingredients, hands them to Caitlin and cleans up, as she tackles the dough itself. 

“All done,” she exclaims as they put the last of the batter into the form, “Now all we have to do is wait for the oven to bake them.” In a flash, Barry has cleaned the rest of the kitchen and put out the takeaway containers in front of the TV. “Shall we watch a movie?” Nodding, Caitlin sits down on the couch, flipping through Netflix. “Any preference?” ”Nothing too serious.”   
They settle on a comedy they’ve already seen, aware that they will probably spend more time talking than actually watching the movie. Barry would get up once in a while to put the next cake in the oven, while Caitlin’s slowly falling asleep on the couch. Instead of getting much-needed rest, she has spent the rest of the day baking and it has taken its toll. By the end of the movie she‘s fast asleep, so Barry gently puts a blanket over her, watching her sleep until the last cake is done. Though tired himself, he’s also giddy, having had a blast today. Baking with Caitlin is quickly becoming his favorite activity.


	4. Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Iris in Gotham, Barry decides to spend Valentine's Day babysitting Jenna. But he quickly realizes that he needs help...

It’s Valentine’s Day. Or at least it is according to the calendar. To Barry, it doesn’t really feel like Valentine’s Day. He had been prepared to go all out and make it a memorable day, but apparently, it wasn’t such an important day to Iris since she has decided to spend the week in Gotham, gathering as much information as she could on the infamous Batgirl. And though he understands her need to uncover a few good stories to get her own newspaper of the ground, he doesn’t understand why he couldn’t just speed over there for tonight. But Iris has been adamant that she wants to focus on work. He sighs, the fact that he hasn’t told her anything more about Batgirl, except her existence, probably doesn’t help matters. Still, it isn’t his place to reveal any of it, especially if Iris is going to use it in an article. Secret identities and investigative journalism don’t always go well together.

Pocketing his phone and putting on a jacket, he heads over to Joe’s. Since he can’t spend Valentine’s Day with his wife, he has offered to watch Jenna so that Joe and Cecile can at least enjoy a romantic evening together. With Joe being away visiting Wally a lot lately, they deserve a night to themselves.   
Barry expected it to be a quiet night, putting Jenna to bed early and ready to work on some case files he brought. But just as he’s about to get to work, Jenna starts crying in her room. So he heads upstairs to check on her, taking her in his arms and softly shushing her until she falls asleep again. Making sure she is warm and dry, he puts her back in her bed. But as soon as he’s back downstairs, the baby starts up again. After repeating this procedure five times, staying longer in her room, arriving quicker, taking a while before responding and nothing working, he doesn’t know what else to do anymore. Even Flash time can’t calm Jenna down and that usually always does the trick. Exasperated, but not wanting to ruin Joe and Cecile evening, he does the only thing he can think of.

Caitlin’s about to call it a day and head home when her cell phone rings. “Hey, Barry,” she picks up surprised, not expecting to hear from him tonight.   
“Hey, Caitlin. Sorry to bother you, but I kind of need your help,” his dejected voice comes over the speaker. Before she can respond, she hears Jenna’s crying in the background. “I’m guessing that’s not a meta,” Caitlin jokes.   
“I wish. Metas I can handle, a crying toddler apparently not so much. Any chance you could swing by? I’m completely out of ideas,” Barry asks miserably.  
“Of course,” Caitlin promises, “I’ll be right over.” After all the emergencies Barry has needed her help with, this is definitely a new kind. 

 

Barry’s still on edge, he’s tried everything he can think of, but he just can’t get Jenna to calm down. He even swept the house for bugs at some point, looking for some kind of interferences that could upset her and which he might not pick up on. But no luck. Jenna’s crying is grating against his ears, and his heart. Rocking her in his arms, he’s walking up and down the living room, anxiously counting down the minutes until Caitlin arrives, which to a speedster seem endless. Hopefully, she’ll have an idea on what to do, she always does. If not, he’s not going to be left with another choice but to call Cecile and Joe and spoil their night. 

The moment Caitlin’s car pulls into the driveway, he’s at the door, opening it. Relieved he watches her walk up to the house. Although Jenna is still crying in his arms, the second he sets his eyes on his personal physician, he calms down. Smiling, Caitlin comes up to them.   
“You okay?” she asks, trying not to laugh at how miserable they both look before taking over the baby from Barry.   
“No, I’m not okay,“ Barry sighs dramatically while closing the door behind them, “this has been going on for hours, nothing I do makes a difference. What kind of superhero am I if I can’t even get a baby to stop crying.”   
“Didn’t know that was in your job description,” she teases him while she presses the back of her hand to Jenna’s face. “Barry, are you aware that she has a fever?”   
“What? No, that can’t be right, “ Barry stammers as he touches Jenna again, ”she doesn’t feel hot, just warm…” He trails off as Caitlin looks at him with raised eyebrows and realization sinks in. “With my elevated body temperature, she shouldn’t even feel warm to me.” Barry feels like slapping himself, all the time the answer has been staring him in the face, but he never even thought of it. 

“I’m so sorry, I made you come all the way over here to tell me something a thermometer could have,” Barry apologizes, running his hand through his hair, exasperated with himself. “Don’t worry about it, it’s not like I had big plans,” Caitlin grins,” anyway since I’m already here, I might as well take care of my little sick patient.” She puts a soft kiss on Jena’s face, before cradling her gently in one arm, cold mist swirling from her other hand, as she slowly cools Jenna down.

“Does she need any medication?” Barry wonders, eager to be helpful.   
“I don’t think so,” Caitlin muses while shaking her head, “but could you get me some of her milk?” With a gush of air, Barry returns holding some milk. Carefully, Caitlin freezes it into a roundish icicle, before handing it to Jenna. Joyfully the girl starts sucking on her milk-sicle, finally calm again.   
“You know you’re amazing, right,” Barry compliments her.   
“As a doctor, it would be pretty bad if I couldn’t diagnose a fever,” she jokes, though she can’t hide a blushing smile. Barry smiles back at her, still in awe at her casual use of her powers, it feels like yesterday when she was too scared to use them and like overnight she has mastered them in a way he hadn’t thought possible. 

 

After a while, Jenna’s fever goes down and she’s finally falling asleep again, so they put her back in her bed. Barry’s standing next to Caitlin and they’re both just watching over Jenna for a little while longer. Something about the peacefulness making it hard to move and break this moment. Before he realizes what he’s doing, he has put his arm around Caitlin’s shoulders, pulling her to his side. Though a part of him is aware that this might not be appropriate, the rest of him can’t help but feel content, noticing once more how Caitlin just perfectly melts into his shoulders, like she belongs there. 

 

“Do you want to stay? I could grab us a bite to eat” Barry offers eagerly as they make their way back downstairs. “I mean, you said you didn’t have any plans, so…” he adds unsure.  
“That’d be nice,” Caitlin agrees, glad not to be going back to her empty apartment just yet.   
“So what are you in the mood for?” Barry wants to know.   
“Whatever you were planning on having is fine,” Caitlin replies.   
“No way, you just saved me from a crying baby, ruining Joe and Cecile’s night and having to work on my case files, I’ll get you whatever you want, the world is your oyster, hell the multiverse is your oyster,” Barry declares dramatically.   
Grinning at his antics, Caitlin answers. “I actually have a hankering for some pizza.”   
“Pizza?!, “ Barry repeats aghast,” really? Pizza?” Caitlin just shrugs her shoulders innocently.   
“Fine, I’ll get you pizza,” Barry sighs, “but I’m getting it straight from Italy.”   
“Barry, it’s actually the middle of the night in Italy right now,” Caitlin points out while biting her lip to keep from laughing.   
Resigned, Barry lets out a huff of air. “Fine, boring American pizza it is.” Winking at her, he flashes off, only to return shortly with 10 different kinds of pizzas.   
“What’s all this?” Caitlin demands laughing.   
“Well if we’re eating something as *extravagant* as pizza, we’re at least finding out which place has the best one,” he explains returning her grin. 

 

A little later, they’re sitting around the dining room table, with all the pizzas between them, taking bites from different ones.   
“So, I take it that Iris is still in Gotham?” Caitlin ventures carefully.  
“Yeah,” Barry sighs, suddenly sounding very defeated.  
“We don’t have to talk about it,” Caitlin offers softly. Barry shakes his head. “Nah, it’s okay, it’s just with her basically refusing to spend Valentine’s Day together, it made me think a lot today and reflecting on my life, I don’t know, I guess lately it just feels kind of…” He isn’t sure if he should continue, but seeing Caitlin’s caring smile, he knows she won’t judge him. “…empty,” he finishes sadly.   
She looks at him thoughtfully. “Like a shell?”   
“Yeah, like on the surface I have every reason to be happy, I’m married to Iris, we have a daughter, we even have a plan to defeat Cicada, things are really good right now, but still… I feel hollow underneath. Like I’m not actually happy. I guess getting everything you ever wanted is not what it’s cracked up to be,” Barry sighs. 

“Maybe you’re putting too much pressure on this,” Caitlin ventures, “getting what you wanted doesn’t necessarily mean it’s exactly the way you imagined it to be.”   
“But the thing is, it is exactly what I imagined it to be, but I’m not sure it makes me as happy as I thought I’d be”, he admits thoughtfully, “at first I thought that was because it was new, then because of Savitar’s threat, my being in the speed force, then in prison, focused on Devoe, but by now I’ve run out of excuses and I have to admit that the life I’ve always dreamed of isn’t bringing me as much joy as I thought it would.” 

“You know, happiness isn’t a goal you reach once and then that’s it, you’re automatically happy for the rest of your life,” Caitlin goes on softly, “I think you spent a long time believing being with Iris was the one component that would guarantee your happiness, but that’s not how it works, being with someone should just make it easier to get through the tough times and find happiness in the everyday things of life.”   
“Like baking pie?” Barry suddenly wonders with a tiny smile.   
Caitlin lets out a laugh. “Yeah like baking pie.” 

“Barry, don’t forget, that you and Iris have only been married a little over a year. I know with Nora being here, it might seem like you’re this old married couple, but just because you know about the future, you can’t expect your feelings to catch up that quickly. Just take your time to live in the present and figure out your own feelings, separate them from your past and future expectations,” she recommends reassuringly.  
Barry smiles at Caitlin, once again she has managed to make him feel so much better with just one conversation.   
“Thank you.”   
“Of course,” she replies kindly,” what are friends for.”

“Speaking of which, what is Cisco doing tonight?” Barry wonders more lightheartedly, ”not working on the cure again, I hope?”   
“He’s actually on another date with Kamilla,” Caitlin answers with a smile, “I think he took her to some dive-bar because they met in one or something like that.”   
“Hmm,” Barry’s face lights up like sunshine, “I know a really nice dive bar, too. They have great karaoke.”   
He smirks over at her. “Barry!” Caitlin exclaims, swatting a hand at him, “stop teasing me.”   
“I’m not teasing you,“ Barry protests with a grin, “I’m reminiscing fondly.”   
Caitlin rolls her eyes at him but can’t hide a smile at the memory.   
“You know, we definitely need to go karaoke again,” Barry muses with a smirk.   
“How unfortunate that we just can’t leave Jenna alone,” Caitlin replies with mock sadness.   
“Well…” Barry starts with a mischievous grin on his face, “if we can’t go to the karaoke, we can always bring karaoke to us.”   
And with that and a gust of wind, he disappears. 

 

Kind of dreading his return, Caitlin puts away the rest of their dinner, before checking once more on Jenna who’s still sound asleep and her fever low enough not to worry. As she comes back down, Barry has returned and is in the living room connecting Cisco’s Wii to the television set.   
“Really Barry? You just expect me to sing and make another fool of myself?” Caitlin asks raising her eyebrow.   
“Well, there’s some liquid courage on the coffee table,” Barry deadpans, before turning towards her with a beaming smile, ”also you never made a fool out of yourself. Your singing is very endearing.”   
“Yeah right,” Caitlin replies unconvinced though still mollified. Pouring both of them some wine, she browses through their song choices. Though she still doesn’t know how she ever found the courage, even drunk, to sing in front of a whole bar, she finds that she isn’t that averse to the idea of singing with Barry alone. A smirk appears on her face when her eyes land on a certain song.

Despite her better judgment, she eventually takes the microphone from Barry and starts singing. “The snow glows white on the mountain tonight…”   
“Really?”, Barry laughs, shaking his head at her shrugging her shoulders all innocently, “Cisco is going to be sad he missed this.”   
Though she feels a little self-conscious and silly at first, by the time the refrain rolls around, Barry has joined in and to her surprise, Caitlin finds out that singing with Barry feels natural. No matter if his singing is better than hers, he always makes her feel like he wants to listen to her and she just feels completely comfortable around him, not something she would have ever believed in advance. 

After the first song, they stay in the genre, belching musical number after musical number. Barry’s cheerfulness is contagious and it feels good to sing and laugh together like they had five years ago. Finally, Caitlin lets herself fall back on the couch, caught in a fit of giggles at Barry’s rendition of ‘Singing in the rain’. As Barry ends the song with a last twirl, he falls down on the couch next to her and hands her the microphone. But Caitlin shakes her head. “I can’t anymore,” she protests between laughs, “my voice is starting to sound hoarse.”   
“So you admit defeat?” Barry jokes.   
“Well, we knew you were going to best me at singing anyway,” she retorts grinning.  
“Oh, I’m flexible, if you wanna try beating me at something else,” Barry challenges her.   
“Like?”   
“Like…” Barry looks through the DVD’s he brought, “… a dance-off.”   
“You’re kidding, right?” Caitlin laughs.   
“Scared to lose, Dr. Snow?”   
“You wish!”   
With that Caitlin gets back up and grabs the motion controllers. With a grin, Barry pushes the coffee table to the window and joins her in front of the tv.

 

“Well that was just sad,” Barry teases her after the first song.   
“Maybe *you* should try doing this in high heels,” Caitlin huffs, before giving up all pretenses and kicking off her shoes. “And no using your powers, Mr. Allen,” she adds with a smirk. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Barry winks at her before pressing play on the next dance. 

“Are you trying to do the moonwalk?” Caitlin laughs with a side glance at Barry. “No, I’m succeeding“, Barry retorts jokingly, glancing over at her jumping and turning with her hair flying around as if he’s just sped in. His heart swells at the sight.

“Okay, what new hellish level is this?” Caitlin pants as she tries to imitate some crisscross leg movement onscreen, “even Ralph couldn’t make his legs move like that.”   
“Well if we break something, at least we’ll both heal quickly,” Barry chuckles, though he’s starting to breathe heavily himself, “I think this song is on an endless loop.”   
“You just think that because you’re afraid I’m gaining on you, Flash,” she teases, repeating a few more dance steps nearly perfectly.   
“Nice try,” he winks at her, before following some side step turn movement which earns him extra points.

“Oy, you’re moving into my space, “ Caitlin suddenly complains before pressing her shoulders against Barry’s to get him back to his side. “Am not,” he retorts with a grin while pushing her back to her side. But trying to push past the other, their feet somehow get intertwined, making Caitlin stumble sideways. Trying to keep her from falling, Barry tugs on her arm, pulling her towards him, only to lose his own balance and drag her down with him. Lying on his back, with Caitlin on top of him, Barry struggles to get back up, but Caitlin keeps pushing him down with one hand.   
“I can still win,” she shrieks playfully, moving her other hand with the motion controller in it.   
“This is cheating,” Barry complains while wrapping his arms around her waist, trying to roll her off in between chortles. Unable to control her own laughter, Caitlin finally gives in, turning so she’s lying next to Barry with his arm still under her. They both just lie on the floor, trying to calm their breathing in between fits of laughter. 

Looking over at Caitlin, Barry can’t help but think that maybe he’s happy after all.


End file.
